Tabled Resolution

In Model UN, a tabled resolution is a draft resolution (or sometimes an amendment) that the committee has voted to postpone, removing it from active consideration without formally rejecting it. The motion is usually phrased as a motion to table or, in stricter parliamentary settings, a motion to postpone consideration. Once tabled, the document cannot be debated, amended, or voted upon until a separate majority vote brings it back to the floor.

The mechanic is borrowed from Anglo-American parliamentary tradition. Under Robert's Rules of Order, "lay on the table" is technically meant to set business aside temporarily so the body can deal with more urgent matters, though in U.S. practice it is often used to kill a motion outright. By contrast, the UK and Westminster usage of "tabling" means the opposite — to introduce a motion for discussion. MUN circuits vary: many North American conferences treat tabling as effectively shelving a draft, while conferences using rules closer to the actual UN General Assembly Rules of Procedure prefer the more neutral language of postponement (see GA Rules 74–76 on closure and adjournment of debate).

Procedurally, a motion to table typically:

• Requires a second and is not debatable (or only limited debate is allowed, depending on the rulebook).
• Passes by simple majority, though some conferences require two-thirds because the effect is to suppress substantive debate.
• Can be reversed by a later motion to resume consideration or take from the table, also usually by simple majority.

Strategically, delegates table a resolution when a competing bloc's draft has gained momentum, when a sponsor wants to buy time to renegotiate, or when a flawed draft would be embarrassing to vote down outright. Chairs should be alert to abuse: repeated tabling can be used to obstruct, and many rulebooks therefore restrict how soon a tabled item may be reintroduced.